Croatian public libraries in time of crisis

Abstract

Croatian public libraries faced complex processes in society at the turn of the 20th into the 21st century – a time of transition and transformation in Croatia. During this period, Croatia shifted towards democracy and modernization. Its constitution (now seen as a geopolitical and cultural entity), extraordinary conditions of war disaster in the Homeland War 1991–1995, and conditions of the post-war period all presented unique challenges for public libraries in Croatia. In addition, Croatian libraries have also been influenced by characteristics of the information society that occurs trans-nationally and trans-societally (among all globalization processes and permeating all aspects of life with information and communication technology). Croatian libraries had to transform their traditional role of lending books and acting as cultural heritage institutions to follow international modern library trends in the information age as multifunctional information, educational, cultural and communication centres of their local communities. The aim of this article is to give a historical review of public libraries’ accommodation to these turbulent changes in Croatian society, as well as in the world in the last few decades.